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Lise Hohenstein
First Lieutenant (Oberleutnant) Lise Hohenstein is a character in the anime, visual novel and light novel Schwarzesmarken. She is a TSF (Tactical Surface Fighter) pilot who works as a spy for the corrupt Stasi (Ministry of State Security of East Germany) posing as a new soldier dispatched to the anti-STASI 666th TSF Squadron, which had to replace their injured number 09, Pham Thi Lan. Her Callsign under the squadron is Schwarzesmarken 09. Despite her (forced) allegiance to the Stasi, she has a strong bond with her adoptive brother Theodor Eberbach, who is a loyal member of the squadron. Theodor had previously thought Lise was killed by the Stasi when it chased their family and captured her; he was shocked upon the discovery that she was alive. Lise serves the squadron in some missions against the BETA (dangerous hostile insect-like alien invaders), but eventually reveals her true intentions. Her dark past of abuse by the Stasi conflicts with her desire to protect her brother at any cost. Biography Early life Lise was born in East Germany on June 28, 1964. As a child, she lived with her parents Thomas and Marlene. One day, the family adopt a red-haired 8-year-old boy named Theodor, with whom Lise gradually develops a very close relationship, despite Lise being worried at first glance. Thomas requests that Theodor be good to Lise and protect her as her older brother. Over the next seven years, Lise and Theodor become nigh inseparable. Lise excels in her school academics as a straight A student, becoming multi-linguistically proficient and taking her electives in the art of drama and theater. Theodor appears to have less ambition for his future aside from noting Lise to be what is most important to him, though she ultimately feels the same way for him. Family trouble and ostracism In the late 70s, Thomas Hohenstein finds himself in increasing trouble with the government for his critiques on the Stasi. As the organization turns more and more authoritarian, with recent purges and executions, he becomes a target. That also makes Lise ostracized by her indoctrinated school mates because of her father's alleged capitalist sentiments. No longer able to find sufficient work to support his family, Thomas to decide on escaping East Germany with his family. In 1980, the family attempt to cross the Berlin Wall, but are captured in action. Captivity As a captive, Lise is brutally tortured (through various methods such as nail pulling, water boarding, severe beatings, hanging upside down, sleep deprivation and lacerations), but refuses to say anything that would indict her parents or brother, valuing her family's life over her own; she resolves that, if she is tortured to death in the process, it is worth not giving in and selling out her family. After a month of no results, becoming increasingly frustrated with her lack of cooperation, ruthless Stasi official Heinz Axmann takes her into a separate room where she is then gangraped for several hours. Reentering the room after what Lise describes as "several hours of violence that I try but can't repress", Axmann reveals photographs of the act that were taken and that her brother Theodore was still alive. While her parents are eventually sentenced to death because they were labeled the "ringleaders" of the crime, Axmann offers her the opportunity to spare her brother's life and her own if she pledges loyalty to the Stasi, which she agrees as she has no other choice. She assumes Theodore would do the same for her. She hesitantly swears the oath, straining to resist the rising urge to vomit in disgust at the words she is forced to speak and choking on her tears. Service to the Stasi Axmann declares Lise as his subordinate and dog (personal sex slave). She also undergoes training as a Swallow (a female spy that sleeps with men to get intelligence). Lise is also trained as a TSF pilot to fight the BETA, all as a part of Axmann's long term plan to have as many combat capable agents as possible on his side for the coming faction war within the Stasi. Lise remarks being often verbally harassed by her peers for her mistakes. This intense physical and psychological abuse makes Lise think frequently about killing herself, but she never does it since Axmann had threatened to kill Theodor is she doesn't comply. In 1982, in order to eventually get her recruited into the Werewolf battalion so that she can serve internally as a spy for him, Axmann assigns Lise to serve in the frontier guard force despite her protests. On her first mission, she captures attempted fugitives alive. Axmann orders Lise to kill the 20 fugitives, including two teenagers and an infant, to which she is reluctant. Once again, Axmann threatens to kill her and her brother if she disobeys, what forces her to perform the act. This marks a change in Lise's psyche: she realizes that the Stasi is too horrible and yet too powerful, giving up any hope of rebellion. She is driven only by the desire to protect her brother. Spywork to Beatrix As Lise's TSF skills honed during her years of service, she eventually joins the prestigious Werewolf battalion. The batallion's major Beatrix Brehme offers her the opportunity to meet Theodor if she agrees to help in an internal conflict within the Stasi in lieu of working to Axmann. Lise agrees, seeing a opportunity to both join her brother and get her revenge against Axmann for the years of abuse. She mentally notes to herself that if the coming power struggles within the Stasi end up weakening their defense enough and the country either collapses upon itself due to civil war or the BETA break through the defensive line, there is a chance she and Theodore could also finally escape the country once and for all by crossing over the border like they had attempted to with their parents years before. In 1983, Lise is sent on a spy mission posing as a new member of the 666th. She participates on some battles against the BETA but many of the squadron suspect that she is a spy. She enjoys the company of her brother and has a sexual relation with him one night. When she finally reveals her true face, the Stasi is able to capture the squadron's members, including captain Irisdina Bernhard. Theodor and another member, Katia Waldheim, manage to escape. To obtain information, Lise cruelly tortures the captured members of the squadron. After their escape, she engages in STF battles, this time sided with the Stasi. In a moment of argument with Theodor during a battle, she murders squadron member Thi-Rang Pham while she attempted to comfort Lise. At one point shortly after, Theodor has the opportunity to kill her, but doesn't do so for the sentimental bond with Lise. Theodore's decision is reprehended by fellow TSF operator Suzy Dzap, who says Lise must be seen as an enemy and bonds must be forgotten in battle. After defeating Lise for the second time, Theodor has a final conversation with her, in which he says he loves her before shooting her dead. Fate Anime Upon the destruction of the rest of the Borkwalde squadron, Lise was lured into a trap set by Theodor. She was hit by the reactive armor plating of Theodor's MiG's DS-3 Shurzen, destroying her TSF's head unit and ruining her optics. Theodor's second attack used the same shield to damage Lise's cockpit, crushing the outer frame and sending fire and shrapnel into the cockpit, hitting Lise across her chest and face. Later, Theodor removed the cockpit seal and lowered himself down to Lise, who was mortally wounded and in hysterics over what she saw as a foolish mistake he made in trusting the rebel forces. Theodor thanked her for saving him from the Stasi and apologized for not being able to protect her from them, but said that it was finally his turn to save her, and that it was because he was her older brother that he had to it. Taking out a pistol, Theodor executed Lise with a single shot. Martyrs Lise Route In his attempt to protect Lise Theo goes with her and joins the Werewolf battalion all the while hoping to find an opportunity to escape with her and possibly link back up with the 666th for the rebellion. This opportunity never arises however as a union between the rebels and Axmann's forces from the Berlin faction of the Stasi results in Lise's tsf being shot down and her capture by the rebels. With Lise's absence and Theo's reason for assisting Beatrix gone she barters to help rescue Lise from the rebels so long as Theo continues to help her in turn. During an engagement against the 666th Theo hears Katia's speech being broadcasted from Berlin reinvigorating his motivation to fight for her ideals. He turns on Beatrix at the last moment and assists Iris in delivering the killing blow before exiting his tsf to plead with her directly for Lise's whereabouts. To extract information from their prisoner the rebels turn Lise over to Axmann. She is tortured and implied to be raped again in addition to being injected with a confession agent (truth serum). She next reappears completely brainwashed into aiding Axmann eliminate his competition within the Stasi. Theodor tracks them down and engages Axmann's assistant in a firefight and kills him, but before he can shoot Axmann as well Axmann uses Lise as a human shield and comes to a stand off with Theodore. Questioning why Lise is so unresponsive, Axmann reveals to Theo that she is brainwashed to respond to his every command and that while she does not fully register what is happening she will remember everything once the effect wears off. He then takes the opportunity to brag about all the horrible things he made her do in the past three years to incite anger and pain in Theodor and shake his resolve. Theodor understands Lise's situation and does not hold what happened against her, comparing it to his own past experiences surviving for the last three years. Knowing she has kept him alive all this time he determines to save her here and now at any cost. Unable to get Theo to back down Axmann resorts to ordering Lise to fire on Theodor, and being unaware and unable to resist she shoots Theo in the abdomen. The Stasi-grade fortified suit he's wearing resists the shot and he charges Axmann punching him in the face and separating him from Lise, then fires on him while holding her tightly with his other arm. When the effects of the brainwash wear off and she remembers where she is and what happened, Lise attempts to take her own life. Stating that she can't take it all anymore, that she didn't want Theo to know about what happened to her, and she can't stand that she almost killed him she puts her own gun to her head. Theodor manages to talk her down by reminding her of their promise to always be together and that if she let herself die now she would be breaking that promise. She lowers the gun and breaks down crying, as he holds her Theo decides that with the rebel victory they would have to flee to avoid trouble due to both being members of the Werewolf battalion. At that moment Axmann fires off a single shot into the air before finally succumbing to his wounds and dying. Seeing that man still alive gives Lise a panic attack resulting in a mental breakdown combined with the side effects of the drug. An undiagnosed chemical induced brain injury strips Lise of her memories of the past three years and much of her cognitive functions causing her to behave much like a young frightened child. Taking her west across the border after the fall of the Berlin wall Theodor resolves to take her somewhere far away where he can help her recover in the meantime and keep her safe no matter how long it may take. At the end Lise reveals that while she does not remember the Stasi or the events of the last three years she still remembers her promise, and the two reiterate their vow to always be together. Taking the nature of the ending and meaning of her character song played during, it can be said that quite literally Lise's deepest wish has been fulfilled to return to a time when she and her big brother were happy together and without the horror of her life's recent events plaguing her mind. Trivia *Lise's route name and theme song is "Lost Heaven." The song's lyrics are sung by Lise's voice actress and speak from the character's heart. In it she expresses her deepest heart's desire to start life over anew somewhere far away with her soul mate, the one she loves above all else including herself. To wash away the pain with her tears, even if just to warm his hands she would use her own soul as the kindling, however much she must sacrifice he is her eternal happiness. *Yoshino Nanjo, Lise's voice actress, is the lead singer of Fripside and is also the voice of Ayase Eli of Love Live! and Kokoro Akechi of Milky Holmes. *An additional scenario from the Muv Luv gacha game "Strike Frontier" features Theo taking Lise away to a secluded location rather than taking her prisoner for the rebels, noting that he was wrong for calling her his enemy and he understands the hardship that had led to her current involvement in the Stasi and that she had suffered far more than he has ever experienced. Deciding that much like Katia gave him hope and turned his life around, it is his responsibility to do the same for Lise as best he can. Predicting that due to the Stasi fighting the rebellion the border guard would be stretched thin if not totally absent at the opportune time, he takes her with him to hop over the border. The scene offers an alternative possibility similar to the ending of the Lise route albeit without Lise being afflicted with amnesia by a brain injury for better or worse. Regardless by the end Lise is blissfully happy to be with Theodor again and if there is anyway to work towards healing her of her trauma, this is it. *She has one fan artist known as Liseanon who is extremely devoted to her, to the point that Lise and Theo are the only characters that he has ever drawn. He has made dozens of fan art featuring the two, earning him some fame in the community. Category:Female Category:Spy Category:Femme Fatale Category:Friend of a Hero Category:Anime Villains Category:Hero's Lover Category:Strategic Category:Siblings Category:Status Dependent on Version Category:Torturer Category:Military Category:Tragic